[2] During the last phase of the Huaihai Campaign in 1949, injured Republic of China Army captain Sheng Peng (Tony Yang) and subordinate soldiers Huang Te-shun (Li Xiaochuan) and Fan Chung-yueh (George Hu) retreat when it becomes clear the battle is irretrievably lost.

As they trek across the countryside in northern Jiangsu, they encounter an abandoned boy named "Dog Two" (Zou Xuanqi), whom they carry along.

Both Huang and Fan fancy Lin Ah-yu (Ko Chia-yen), a Taiwanese woman who barely speaks Mandarin.

Their new-found happiness is abruptly terminated when Chiu's professor father is taken away by secret police for alleged dissidence.

As Chang Ming-jui has many "connections" who may secure her father's safety, Chiu Hsiang has no choice but to leave Sheng.

Sheng Peng dies of a heart attack in 1987, the same year Taiwan ends its White Terror (and lifts the travel ban to mainland China).